My Ming Dynasty, I have the final say

Chapter 212: Xu Guangqi Mine Experience

Dong Yingju had no interest in watching bandit suppression or anything like that.

After writing a letter to the capital, Dong Yingju continued to measure the ground of Shuntian Mansion with his feet.

On the other side, Cao Wenzhao, who happened to be passing by with his army, ordered Xu Yunzhen to take more than 200 people after receiving the news from Dong Yingju who sent people overnight.

Then, thirty or forty people were taken away from the town that the father-in-law pointed out.

Will arresting people like this lead to unjust, false or wrongful convictions?

That was not an issue that he, the leading general, needed to be concerned about, it was a matter for the Ministry of Punishment and the Imperial Guards.

Moreover, those who were arrested were all unemployed vagrants identified by the villagers. Regardless of whether they were strong thieves or not, they would eventually be sent to Xishan to mine.

As for whether these people are willing or not, others will not say anything.

Come on, tell me something.

Last time, when the emperor asked Jinyiwei to send those unemployed vagrants to Xishan and Shijingshan, his intention was very clear.

Although this job is compulsory, you are given sufficient wages, but you are still unwilling?

That night, a group of people who were said to be strong thieves by the old man were sent to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.

At the same time, Xu Xianchun, the commander of Jinyiwei, also received a letter.

"We have caught a group of strong thieves. Do we need our Jinyi Guards to investigate directly?"

Looking through the letter Dong Yingju sent to Beizhen Fusi, Xu Xianchun frowned.

Is this Shuntian Prefecture magistrate instructing their Jin Yiwei to do things?

Although he was a little dissatisfied with Dong Yingju's behavior, Xu Xianchun felt that before deciding how to treat Dong Yingju, he still had to understand the cause and effect of the matter.

"Have you found out what happened?"

Thinking this, Xu Xianchun turned to look at Tian Ergeng who had just come in and sat down and asked.

"Sir, I went to the Criminal Department and asked. They are all idle men in the village."

Seeing Xu Xianchun asking himself, Tian Ergeng immediately cheered up and told him the news from his inquiry.

"As for the tragedy of annihilation mentioned in Governor Dong's letter, it is also true."

"I checked the files. It happened last year. The Shuntian Mansion Yamen was short of people and couldn't find out clearly, so they left it to our Jin Yiwei. When Commander Luo was there, he also sent people to check, but there was no clue."

Hearing this, Xu Xianchun frowned.

Listening to Tian Ergeng's words, I felt like something was wrong.

This Dong Yingju asked them to place a headless case on a group of idle men?

"Is it possible that the case was committed by those idle men?"

"It's really possible."

Hearing this, Tian Ergen nodded.

"As soon as I took Jin Yiwei into the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, I had the courage to report him, saying that they knew about many murder cases and that one of them was the leader."

"It's a murder case. Even if the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple decide the case, we, the Jinyi Guards, still have to investigate and make up for it in the end. So I brought back those people who wanted to report and planned to try it first."

"Ah."

After listening to Tian Ergeng's words, Xu Xianchun nodded and signaled the other party to do something.

"I feel there is a big case behind this. Go and protect those people and don't let them be silenced."

"Yes!"

After hearing this, Tian Ergeng handed over his hand and went down.

The tragedy of annihilation of a family is something that must be heard in heaven.

In the end, it was found out and the criminal was caught, and at the very least, he would be sentenced to death.

The word "scrupulous punishment" has been used since the Li and Tang Dynasties, and the final judgment of death penalty was in the hands of the emperor.

The Ming Dynasty paid more attention to careful punishment.

Major cases are handled by local officials for the first time, and then enter the process of three complex cases.

First, it was reviewed by the superior of the local government. If the review was not approved, the case was sent back for retrial.

Then, it was reviewed by the Ministry of Punishment. If the Ministry of Punishment's review was not correct, it was sent back for retrial and then transferred to Dali Temple.

During the review of Dali Temple, the case will also be forwarded to the cabinet. After the cabinet makes a judgment, it will be sent to the emperor's desk.

Human murder cases, especially those involving the death penalty, must go to the emperor's desk.

Only with the emperor's approval can the death penalty be carried out.

In this process, the role of Jinyiwei is to make corrections.

Now, Dong Yingju asked Cao Wenzhao to send back these people, directly stating that it was a case of massacre.

It was already a hot potato that had been thrust into the hands of the Criminal Department.

If Dong Yingju doesn't think it's enough, he actually wants their Jin Yiwei to leave early?

Looking at Tian Ergeng leaving, Xu Xianchun's expression changed.

Do you want to get involved so soon?

Xu Xianchun hesitated until the next morning.

And the emperor Zhu Youxiao also knew that such a tragic thing as the extermination of his family had happened at the emperor's feet.

"How did the Criminal Department investigate before?"

Listening to Wei Zhongxian's description of the entire incident, Zhu Youxiao touched his chin and asked.

"The Minister of Criminal Affairs has been missing for a while. After the case occurred, only the local government was investigating, and there has been no report yet."

"waste."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao cursed and then said.

"You don't need to say anything or do anything about this matter. Just watch the Jin Yiwei and the people from the Criminal Department investigate."

After waving his hand, Zhu Youxiao said to Wei Zhongxian.

"My slave understands."

After hearing the emperor's words, Wei Zhongxian bowed slightly and responded.

Looking at Wei Zhongxian's leaving figure, Zhu Youxiao tapped his fingers on the table.

He did not intend to speak out until the matter was officially cleared.

Dong Yingju was establishing his authority in Shuntian Prefecture.

At this time, Dongchang, who was the sword in the emperor's hand, was not suitable for anything.

Jinyiwei, even if it is a secret service agency, is a national agency with clear responsibilities. It can be mobilized according to the procedures of other yamen, and it is a yamen that can be discussed in big discussions.

But Dongchang was different. The purpose of Dongchang's establishment was to consolidate imperial power and was only responsible to the emperor.

The purpose of Dongchang is supervision. If Dongchang is allowed to intervene at this time, it will be a blasphemy for what he is currently doing: clarifying the rights and responsibilities of each government office.

After deciding to see Dong Yingju's movements first and then consider what happened next, Zhu Youxiao's mind suddenly changed and he thought of another question.

"However, how to know the effect of the New Deal is a problem."

"How about setting up a central statistical office."

Just when the emperor was thinking about setting up a new yamen.

Xu Guangqi, who had lived in Shijingshan for five days, was also brought to the news that Dong Yingju had ordered a group of "idle men" to be treated as "strong thieves" and sent to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.

After listening to the description of Dong Yingju's incident in the Ministry of Works document, Xu Guangqi calmly said a few words of "don't ask any questions" and waved the other party to leave.

"These people are already starting to move."

Looking at the people leaving, Xu Guangqi's eyes flickered.

Suncheon's new policy must have harmed the interests of some people.

On a normal day, how could something like the imperial court arresting a bunch of idlers spread so quickly?

However, Xu Guangqi did not intend to speak out on this matter.

The emperor emphasized five times and three times that ministries and yamen must not act beyond their authority.

He, the Minister of Industry, has no say in this matter.

After thinking for a while, Xu Guangqi returned his attention to his work.

The iron course is paid once a month and is paid once every three months.

The account book in front of him was the account book of Shijing Factory in March.

In March alone, the Shijing and Xishan factories produced 1.5 million jins of iron and 3.67 million jins of coal.

In conversion, that is 1,250 tons of iron and 3,058 tons of coal. Among them, one-twentieth is used as a mining class for the imperial court, which can be used by the imperial court for free.

Of course, the raw materials are free, but the production cost is charged.

After fiddling with the abacus on the side of the account book, Xu Guangqi frowned.

The emperor provided the money, Zhao Shuang, the imperial merchant, managed it, and the war bureau of the inner court was managed by the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War.

In the words of later generations, the major shareholders of Shijing Factory and Xishan Factory were the emperor's internal funds, while the small shareholders were the many yamen of the imperial court.

At present, it seems that after the emperor holds the Shijing and Xishan factories, the court's mining income has increased.

However, after many craftsmen were transferred to the two factories, the court's expenditures also increased simultaneously!

You know, before the Ming Dynasty, craftsmen were basically free of prostitution.

This has to be said about the evil done by Meng Yuan.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, although craftsmen were looked down upon by everyone, they only used the two methods of "fan craftsman" and "dangxing" to manage the registration without any restrictions.

By the time of the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, these people organized the conquered craftsmen into craftsmen households, included them in the craftsman register, and assigned them to the government and the army respectively, as well as to the royal palaces as rewards.

Those who return to the government are called "official craftsmen", and those who return to the army are called "military craftsmen".

These people are exempted from official duties other than manufacturing in workshops. Their craftsman status is hereditary, and the marriages of craftsmen's family members are subject to government control.

After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he didn't change much about this system, or even if he wanted to change it, he didn't know how it was managed during the Han and Tang Dynasties.

What? Ask someone? Who to ask?

Most of the officials in the Manchu Dynasty were remnants of Yuan Confucianism who had been involved in the "Xia Boqi Chopping Case".

Don't really expect this group of people to come up with any scientific management methods for you.

Then, the Ming Dynasty inherited the Yuanmeng Craftsman Industry Management Law, and then implemented one-size-fits-all, the simplest management method.

All are registered as craftsmen and are subordinate to the government. They are inherited from generation to generation and serve the country in shifts or in residence.

As the emperor abolished his craftsman status in Beijing, the court had no free labor force.

Now, among other things, the Ministry of Industry and the Military have to pay for the processing of supplied materials in the two factories.

Thinking of this, Xu Guangqi couldn't help but scratch his head.

Regarding this matter, Xu Guangqi really doesn't have a good opinion of it.

From the people's perspective, canceling craftsmanship is good governance.

But from the court's perspective, increased spending is not a good thing.

After thinking for a while, Xu Guangqi decided to discuss the matter with the emperor.

Putting down the account book, Xu Guangqi asked people to pack up the things he had brought and planned to return to Beijing.

While the servants were packing their things, Xu Guangqi wandered around the Shijing Factory.

Step-by-step production and management, a very novel management method.

This was Xu Guangqi’s first impression of Shijing Factory.

The production method of Shijing Factory is mining in the first factory, iron smelting in the second factory, and processing in the third factory.

The three factories do not interfere with each other, but are closely united.

According to Zhao Shuang, this was set by the emperor himself.

The management method also proposed by the emperor also included the payment of wages.

The principle of wages for heavy manual labor is to distribute according to work. The more you work, the more you will get, and the more you work, the more you will get.

As for the wages of craftsmen, something called "work grade" was also introduced.

Depending on the level of the craftsman, you can get different basic wages every month.

In addition to basic wages, there are also performance wages, which are paid based on the amount of labor.

After the emperor's wage policy came out, it is said that the labor enthusiasm of Shijing Factory was very high.

Looking at the craftsmen walking by the roadside, Xu Guangqi felt a little emotional.

The emperor was willing to spend money.

These craftsmen who have been registered as craftsmen for generations are freed from the household registration books, and then increase their income.

The gratitude of these people to the emperor cannot be expressed in words.

Suddenly, Xu Guangqi saw a group of workers pushing a cart and carrying iron bars into the factory.

Looking at the iron bars on these workers' cars, Xu Guangqi couldn't help but step forward and stand in front of one of the cars, stopping the other person and reaching out to touch the iron bars on the car.

"What are you doing?"

"Ok?"

The strong man who was stopped by Xu Guangqi looked up and saw an old man wearing coarse cloth staring at him closely.

Seeing the black gauze hat on the other person's head, the strong man was a little confused, but he still answered honestly.

"We're going to lay the rails."

"rail?"

Hearing this, Xu Guangqi frowned.

What is this?

"It's the emperor's invention."

Just when Xu Guangqi was about to ask something, Guo Zhen suddenly appeared next to Xu Guangqi like a ghost.

"The Za family has given Mr. Xu a lot of experience."

With that said, Guo Zhen made an invitation gesture to Xu Guangqi.

Seeing this, Xu Guangqi's brows twitched and he followed.

Isn't it a waste to turn fine iron materials into useless iron bars?

After walking with Xu Guangqi towards the back mountain for a long time, the group finally arrived at their destination.

Then, Xu Guangqi opened his eyes wide.

"That's it. Master Xu has never seen it before."

Guo Zhen said proudly, pointing to the mine cart being pulled by mules on the railway track.

Although it was the emperor's idea, he personally supervised it. Guo Zhen certainly had the capital to be proud of.

"With these rails, the ore transportation at Shijing Factory is now much faster."

“What’s the purpose of railroad tracks?”

Looking at the mine cart being pulled away by the mule, Xu Guangqi nodded thoughtfully.

The transportation of ore is a repetitive, labor-intensive and complicated task.

Use tracks to form a loop at fixed origins and destinations.

Although it consumes a lot of iron materials, it does provide convenience.

"This is all the emperor's idea. Although it is very expensive to build, it is indeed much more convenient to transport ore and saves a lot of manpower."

Seeing Xu Guangqi's stunned expression, Guo Zhen shrugged his shoulders and continued.

"Currently, this track and mine car are still in the testing stage. They only exist from the iron mine to the iron smelting plant in Shijingshan. In the future, we plan to build a set in Xishan to facilitate transportation."

“It’s a good thing to increase production.”

After listening to the other party's words, Xu Guangqi nodded, and then changed his subject.

"But if this fine iron material is spread on the road, aren't you afraid that someone will steal it?"

"Steal? Who dares to steal?"

Hearing this, Guo Zhen rolled his eyes.

"The railway tracks are patrolled by special guards even at night."

"Besides, if you steal the rails, you will be punished with three years of hard labor in Xishan."

"..."

After hearing Guo Zhen's words, several black lines appeared on Xu Guangqi's forehead.

This is the emperor's punishment rule.

This must be the emperor's punishment rule.

The emperor must be addicted to punishing people to work.

ps: Don’t talk about horse-drawn trains being ridiculous. The earliest use of rail transportation was to provide animal-powered transportation for mines.

Still have no idea, I will sort it out tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)